Bandits shoot once-bubbling Kankara Market in its heart

Under normal circumstances, every Tuesday of the week is the market day of Kankara town, which is the headquarters of Kankara LGA. And as early as 5am, empty trucks and merchants queue up at loading areas of Kankara Market, waiting to evacuate hundreds, maybe thousands, of bags of foodstuff for onward delivery to various parts of the country.

KankaraMarket, alongside several in the southernmost parts of Katsina State, are known nationwide for foodstuff trading, and people come from all over the country to buy maize, millet, guinea corn, beans, and others.The locals, predominantly farmers, earn their living, mainly, by selling farm produce and have for long relied on it as the main source of their livelihood.

The town, and indeed the market,are both strategically situated, linking major cities like Kano, Sokoto, Funtua, and Gusau. Every Tuesday, Kankara Market becomes a beehive of economic and social activities. But while that was the norm, it appears to have changed in recent days, due to incessant attacks on the town by bandits. A few kilometres from the market is the dreaded RuguForest that serves as a hub of sorts for the criminals, who have of recent been terrorising locals.

The bandits attack, maim, and even kill at will, subsequently rustling away animals almost on daily basis. As a result, a good chunk of the farmers in the area have abandoned their farmlands, especially those neighbouring the forest.

When Daily Trust Saturday visited Kankara Market on Tuesday, it was sparsely populated, with a very attendance. The usual traffic – human and vehicular – are all gone. Now people move freely, looking listless, along spaces hitherto used as landing sites for bags of foodstuffs.

The proximity of Kankara to RuguForest has made the town vulnerable to attacks by bandits, who usually ride in on motorcycles, shooting sporadically, before robbing. They also kidnap, and ask for high ransoms from locals. The latest of such attacks was on July 6th when the bandits attacked three villages, namely Dan Sabau, Pawwa, and Makera, all of Kankara. The locals put the death toll at 8, but the police said only 6 were killed. A police officer was killed, and three injured when the bandits laid ambush on security personnel when called upon to assist. Many animals were also rustled during the attacks.

Earlier, on July 4th, no fewer than 18 people were killed. Locals say the bandits first attacked UnguwarNagwande at about 4:30 pm, where they killed 4 people before moving to UnguwarRabo, killing 9, and later attacked GidanDaji, killing 2 people.All these villages are located within KankaraLGA.

Later on, they crossed to Maidabino village in Danmusa local government at about 5pm, opening fire on locals attending the town’s market, reportedly killing three, with many maimed and injured.

A June 30th attack left 7 persons dead, which led to a violent protest by youths, who took to the streets, blocking all access roads, making motorists and commuters spend long hours. Travellers from Sokoto, Kano, Katsina were forced to divert through longer routes while many stayed put till after 2pm when security personnel finally cleared it for access.

The protest was coming a day after bandits attacked no fewer than 10 villages surrounding the town killing, maiming and vandalising properties.Some of the villages attacked are Pawwa, Katoge, Korawa, Dan Hayi, Gidan Mai Godiya, Gidan Dan Maarbi, and YarKuka.The bandits were said to have stormed them between 5pm to 2am. Many houses and shops were burnt and vandalised, and some residents are feared kidnapped, or even killed.

The protesters had accused security agencies of not doing enough to protect them only to appear hours after attacks on their communities to evacuate corpses. A resident who didn’t want his name in print, told Daily Trust Saturday that there are over 10 police check points along the road between Yantumakiand Kankara. “But the villages along said roads are being attacked daily, with no response from security agents. Instead, those personnel have resorted to doing the job of Customs officials, chasing contraband and collecting bribes,” he alleged.

During the protests, corpses of those killed were taken to the palace of the District Head just as hundreds of people from the neighbouring attacked villages are hovering around the town in search for a place to stay.

Some of surviving victims said it was by God’s grace that they survived the attack, as the bandits stormed the area in large numbers. One Malam Abubakar Daberi, who lost a son during the attack, said it is disheartening and heartbreaking, and called for government intervention.

Kabir Saidu of UnguwarAiki, said life is not easy anymore, as in the past two months alone a lot of lives were lost to bandits’ attacks. “We were attending our market day at Maidabino, when we saw people running helter-skelter, and we also heard gunshots. They looted shops, took away valuables, and farm animals,” he told Daily Trust Saturday.

Then Malam Harisu, who comes from Funtua every week to Kankara to attend the market, narrated that it doesn’t make any kind of economic sense visiting the market, as his sales have plummeted.

Another merchant,Bishir Aliyu, said the influx of people, especially from Ilorin and Ibadan, who come to purchase beans, has ebbed.

A revenue officer in the market, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The closest example I can give you, is that traders from our neighbouring village in Zamfara, used to come here every week with 8 trailers of foodstuff to sell. In the last two months, only half a truck was brought here. In terms of revenue, I’m telling you if we were raking about N500,000 in the past, then we aren’t even grossing N100,000 presently.”

A fortnight ago, he added, the market ended midway when people began to run helter-skelter on rumours of an impending attack coming, so merchants and customers all abandoned their wares for safety.

To address the dwindling fortunes of the market, some vigilante members are being drafted to boost the morale of both merchants and customers by engaging in continuous patrols, and on standby in case of trouble.

Following the attacks, The Katsina State Police Command has warned bandits that there is no hiding place for them. A press statement issued by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP GamboIsah, said its either the criminals surrender or face the consequences. “In a couple of weeks, there will be no hiding place for bandits,” he said.

But if the attendance of the last market day is any indication, it will take much more than a press release to allay the fears of customers and traders who have been traumatized by the deadly bandits and their criminal activities.